Deleting files from a backup image?

Hi, i have the acronis true image V9, and i have backed up my harddrive as an image file, after i have pluged the hardrive i can view my files but is there a way of deleting unwanted files to save space from the image file? i try it but it says "The disk is write-protected, remove write protection or use another disk"

Your request reminds me of that classical medical joke: The patient goes to see his doctor and complains "Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this", whereupon the doctor replies "Don't do that".

I'm sorry to say that this is my advice to you as well. Don't do it. You can't anyway, even if you could get past that "write-protection" error message. (I'm not sure what's causing that, by the way. What kind of media is your image stored on?)

If/when you do get past the write-protection error, then as you go through the steps to mount the image you will come to a screen which gives you the option of mounting the image in read-write mode. You might be thinking "Hallelujah!", but I don't think this option will actually produce the smaller image file that you are seeking. Here's a snip from the online documentation for Acronis True Image 9.0:

"Another new feature of Acronis True Image 9.0 is its ability to mount an image file in read-write mode. This allows you to move, rename, add or delete folders and files within the image file through My Computer and Windows Explorer as you would be able to on a real hard drive. Acronis True Image creates a new incremental backup file that will reflect any changes made in the mounted image file."

Notice especially that last line. It says that a new incremental backup file will be created reflecting your changes. This implies that the original image file remains untouched. As a result, not only will this not shrink your image file, but it will probably end up consuming even more space on your hard drive. So if your goal is to save space, this probably won't do it.

Your best approach (if this suits your needs) would be to delete the unwanted data from your hard drive and then create a new image. Keep in mind that if hard drive space is truly at a premium, there are probably lots of other things you can do to free up space. For example, you can uninstall various programs, delete unwanted files, compress seldom-used files and even permanently remove archiveable files from the system. The "Disk Cleanup" tool in Windows XP automates some of these functions.

Also, the image itself can be created under high compression, which will make it a little smaller.

The image file is a *tib file (Acronis True Image Backup Archive)
The image fie is stored on a external harddisk and i was jus thinking ways of making more space on it.
I have like 3 backup image files of my hardrive, as safe storage but i realised i backed up useless amounts of movies that take alot of space on he image files.

Hi, i have the acronis true image V9, and i have backed up my harddrive as an image file, after i have pluged the hardrive i can view my files but is there a way of deleting unwanted files to save space from the image file? i try it but it says "The disk is write-protected, remove write protection or use another disk"

Any tips

Thaks in advance

Click to expand...

You can mount the relevant volumes from the relevant archive as read/write and make changes to the archive.

Keep on following the screens, selecting the .tib image file you want to mount, selecting a drive letter, etc., and clicking "Next" to get to each new screen. (Note: This process is only for partition images.)

Eventually you will get to a screen which allows you to choose between mounting in read-only mode, or in read-write mode. Obviously, you want to try read-write mode.

When you get through all the screens, the image will be mounted as a drive letter and as such it will be accessible via My Computer. Additions and deletions will be possible.

You should unmount the drive after you are done with it.

(There is still the issue of why you are getting the "write-protected" message, so you may not get this far.)

However, as I mentioned earlier, you're going to be disappointed if your goal is to reduce the size of your image file. When you delete some of the contents of the image, ATI merely creates a new file listing your changes. The size of the original image remains unchanged.

Do you have just one big C drive with everything on it? If so, you should consider partitioning your hard drive. This will allow you to store your movies (plus any other files that don't need to be backed up) on a separate partition. All you have to do then is to exclude the second partition when you image your drive. Another option would be to add a second hard drive, then follow the same strategy.